After the devastating earthquake in 2015, the Nepali classical musical band Sukarma travelled to Switzerland to perform concerts to raise money for reconstruction back home. This time, the folk-classical musical trio went back to southern Switzerland to raise money for relief and reconstruction for the damage caused by massive storms and floods there in June — possibly the first time Nepalis have reciprocated for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/60-years-of-helvetas-in-nepal" target="_blank">Swiss assistance </a>over the past six decades. “It was truly an honour, and a proud moment for us as Nepalis that we could give back to the Swiss people in their own time of need,” said Dhrubesh Chandra Regmi, the renowned Nepali sitarist and founder of Sukarma, on return to Kathmandu after his concert tour.&nbsp; As the name of the band itself implies, it is all about earning good karma points, and proof that help does not always have to be one-sided. Sukarmal's renowned tabla maestro <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1424" target="_blank">Atul Gautam died in 2005</a> of brain hemorrhage. Flutist and Grammy award nominee <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/king-of-music-for-kindness" target="_blank">Manose Newa</a> was also a part of Sukarma at one time. Sukarma was founded in 1997, has <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18354" target="_blank">performed often in Europe</a> and several times in the southern part of Switzerland on behalf of <a href="https://kamforsud.org/en/" target="_blank">Kam For Sud</a>, the Swiss non-profit working on education, health and ecology projects in Nepal, especially after the 2015 earthquake.&nbsp; This time, Sukarma’s Europe tour included two concerts on 6-7 September in Maggia and Mesocco in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland that was devastated by <a href="https://apnews.com/article/switzerland-storms-flooding-landslide-bridge-c439ed5a966f94775082b8c70369666c" target="_blank">storms and landslides in late June</a>. Four people were killed when rivers burst their banks on the southern side of the Alps.&nbsp; The concerts were held at the church of S. Maria delle Grazie in Maggia and S. Maria del Castello in Mesocco, and Sukarma performed together with the four-member choir Vocalia known for its &nbsp;Romanesque diphonic singing.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024092214098_1f209513a175f60311c200d0d6186f7ebf7c3af210b6baabc555627ec5be1542.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2024092214098_1f209513a175f60311c200d0d6186f7ebf7c3af210b6baabc555627ec5be1542" data-rendition-name="original" width="1174" height="1514" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali classical musical band Sukarma NT 2"> </figure>  “Sukarma has always stood for using music as a source of harmony, compassion and togetherness,” Regmi told Nepali Times. “So it was natural for us to return the generosity the Swiss people showed Nepal after the earthquake. The concerts were a symbol of solidarity and mutual help.” The concerts were organized by Kam For Sud, which had invited Sukarma several times to Switzerland to raise money for its activities in Nepal. But after hearing about the storms that ravaged Ticino, Regmi expressed the desire to perform for Switzerland in return. “All three of us in the band felt a strong urge to share our music in solidarity with the Swiss people who had in the past shown tremendous support for Nepal during our disaster,” Regmi noted. Sukarma is made up of Regmi on sitar, Yati Raj Adhikari on violin and Jagannath Dhaugoda on tabla and madal (pictured). The band has performed in Nepal and around the world to spread its message of harmony and peace through music.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240922140912_9dd1452e995f682953007bb720e044f3d4421cfe1ed23def3b04d83b439dda12.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240922140912_9dd1452e995f682953007bb720e044f3d4421cfe1ed23def3b04d83b439dda12" data-rendition-name="original" width="4320" height="3596" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali classical musical band Sukarma NT 3"> </figure>  Both concerts at the Swiss churches served as a moving demonstration of the deep ties between Nepal and Switzerland, with Sukarma’s music symbolising unity and support across borders. The Alps and the Himalayan are both at risk from the impacts of climate breakdown and the extreme weather events as a result. Glaciers are shrinking and receding in both mountain ranges, affecting water supply in the two countries as well as downstream. There have been unseasonal heat waves melting the ice cap on the Alps and unleashing severe storms like the one in June, while the Himalaya have suffered successive winter droughts and record-breaking rainfall. Says Regmi: “Our music is also a call for humanity to live in harmony with nature, so that the ecological balance of Mother Earth can be restored.”

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

thumbnail

viewImage

Nepali band raises money for Swiss charity

<figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b86059c7e80680e067827jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Swiss Ambassador Elisabeth von Capeller (centre) handing over the consignment to Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi on Saturday at Kathmandu airport. Also pictured, Head of Cooperation for SDC Silvana Hogg. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>The United States, the EU, Australia, China, Singapore are all flying in emergency supplies to help Nepal battle a fierce Covid-19 second wave, but noticeably lacking are much needed vaccines.  It has to be said that the outside world seems to care more about Nepal than the country’s own leaders, who have been squabbling for power for the past year, and their minds now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-sets-elections-in-middle-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">diverted to controversial early elections</a> in November. The government’s vaccine diplomacy has so far failed to convince India, the US or Europe to rush jabs. Activists and public health experts say even though Nepal’s friends abroad have been generous with relief, the country is not getting the urgent help it needs to vaccinate 1.4 million people with their second dose, and then the remaining population. Nepalis took to cybresphere to thank the United States and Europe for announcing help with oxygen concentrators and PPEs this week, but said what Nepal really needs is vaccines after India banned the export of its AstraZeneca Covishield vaccines. Responding to a USAID post about emergency medical supplies to Nepal, dental surgeon Neil Pande who has been trying to mobilise help, tweeted: ‘Thank you for your generosity. What we need the most is vaccines. It will save many from suffering. Please help. 1.3 million 65+ are waiting for the second dose of Astra Zeneca.’ Another user Prabhat Shrestha wrote, ‘Please help with vaccine. Only vaccines can save us from this disaster. Thank you.’ Ra Vee Shah commented, ‘Hope this aid contains enough vaccines to continue vaccination drive.’ Nepal will have fully inoculated 700,000 of its 30 million population next week, after its ongoing Chinese VeroCell vaccination drive comes to an end. But there are no more jabs left for 1.3 million people waiting for their second dose of AstraZeneca Covishield. Nepal ran out of its stock after India banned vaccine exports, and the COVAX Facility could not supply its remaining 1.8 million vaccines because of the global supply bottleneck. There was a lengthy debate in the UK House of Lords about supplying the vaccines to Nepal, but no firm commitments were made.  Activists and pressure groups have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-urgent-american-vaccine-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">urging the Biden administration</a> to immediately rush some of its 80 million AstraZeneca doses to Nepal. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Nepal’s ambassador in Washington said this week that efforts were underway to send 3-5 million AstraZeneca vaccines from the US stockpile to Nepal. <figure><img width="1280" height="958" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b86089c7e80680e067828jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>On Thursday 20 May, the USAID announced emergency assistance to Nepal with the first of three flights arriving in Kathmandu on Saturday carrying surgical masks, face shields, and gloves for frontline health workers. The USAID maintains that it has provided more than $15 million to help Nepal government scale-up testing, contact tracing, treatment, and infection prevention and more than $50 million in the past 15 months to combat the pandemic.On Saturday, the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal flew in 30 tons of medical supplies from Zurich that included 40 ventilators, oxygen concentrators, 1.1 million rapid antigen test kits and PPEs worth $8 million. <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b860b9c7e80680e067829jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b860e9c7e80680e06782ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b86109c7e80680e06782bjpeg.jpg" alt="">“Switzerland stands in solidarity with Nepal and the Nepali people in the fight against Covid-19, these essential medical supplies will help save lives and provide support to the government of Nepal to contain and control the pandemic,” said Swiss Ambassador Elisabeth von Capeller while handing over the consignment to Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi on Saturday at Kathmandu airport.Later in Saturday, the Singapore-based Temasek Foundation, together with the MiRXES Private Limited and Lotus Life Foundation are sending 15 tons of diagnostic and medical supplies on a Nepal Airlines flight. The consignment includes 36 ventilators, 4,000 pulse oimeters, 50 B-PAPs, 123,000 PCR test kits and RNA extraction kits. <figure><img width="1280" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b86149c7e80680e06782cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>On Friday, the United Nations launched <a href="https://nepal.un.org/en/127307-united-nations-and-partners-nepal-launch-emergency-covid-19-plan-and-call-international" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Nepal Covid-19 Response Plan</a> calling for $83.7 million in emergency relief over the next three months to assist 750,000 of the most vulnerable people affected by the pandemic. “The current outbreak is having a devastating impact not just on health but across all sectors, hitting the poorest and most marginalised people in Nepali society the hardest,” said UN Resident Coordinator Sara Beysolow Nyanti. “The Response Plan calls for swift action and international solidarity that is desperately needed to save lives and prevent unnecessary suffering today, tomorrow, and in the difficult weeks to come. We have no time to lose.”However, even in the UN’s help list, there is no mention of vaccines. The WHO had promised vaccines for 20% of Nepal’s eligible population throughout <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unicef-urges-g7-to-dispatch-vaccines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the COVAX Facility</a>. However, 1.8 million of the 2.4 million Covishield vaccines never came, and its Indian manufacturer said this week it would not be able to export vaccines till end-2021.On Thursday, an Iberia Airbus 330 landed in Kathmandu with 50 oxygen cylinders, 10 oxygen concentrators and 15 ventilators, among other medical kits donated by organisations in Spain. The shipment facilitated through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is the first of several to follow from the EU Member States in the coming days. <figure><img width="1280" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b86179c7e80680e06782djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Finland, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium are donating a combined total of 50 oxygen cylinders, 20 concentrators, 77 ventilators, 14 respirators, 164,000 antigen tests, 3.4 million masks, 42,500 gloves, 30,000 isolation gowns and 20,000 oxygen cannulas. “The Covid-19 surge in Nepal is claiming more lives every minute as it spreads across the country. We stand in full solidarity with Nepal in its fight against the pandemic,” said Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management. “We are also quickly mobilising emergency support with an initial €2 million. We stand ready to provide further assistance.”Also on Thursday, the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China sent overland 200 cryogenic cylinders holding 150 litres of liquid oxygen, 10 oxygen concentrators, 5 ventilators, 200 ICU beds and 15,000 antigen kits to strengthen Nepal’s response to the pandemic.  <figure><img width="2048" height="943" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b86189c7e80680e06782ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>About half of the 20,000 empty oxygen cylinders China donated to Nepal has been flown in by Nepal Airlines from Beijing. However, there is no word about the 2 million more doses of SinoPharm VeroCell vaccines that Nepal wants to order from China. The Ministry of Health is said to be delaying that purchase, and is in favour of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/vaccine-geo-politics-and-sputnik-v/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Russian Sputnik V</a>.Meanwhile, Australia on Thursday also announced AUD7 million (Rs635 million) in funding to Nepal to procure essential equipment and health supplies, such as oxygen for provincial hospitals and personal protective equipment for health workers.This is part of Australia’s aid package to support Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, to strengthen the resilience of the South Asian region during the pandemic.New Zealand has also committed $1 million to support Nepal's Covid-19 response. The fund will go to UNICEF to help with emerging health needs and community resilience, wrote New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Nanaia Mahuta on her twitter. <figure><img width="548" height="828" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b861a9c7e80680e06782fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Another US-based group, <a href="https://www.directrelief.org/2021/05/direct-relief-chartered-airlift-bound-for-nepal-amid-covid-19-surge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Direct Relief</a>, chartered an aircraft to rush oxygen concentrators and Covid-19-specific medical supplies on 25 May. ‘People in Nepal are facing the worst Covid crisis in the world today based on per-capita confirmed cases, and they need urgent help, we will do whatever we possibly can to help,’ said Thomas Tighe of Direct Relief in a statement. International relief for Nepal is picking up but its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/its-an-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">most immediate needs are oxygen and vaccines</a>, especially as the pandemic has now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-humanitarian-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">infiltrated the remotest villages</a> in the country where there is no hospital care, medical equipment or doctors. In Rolpa and Humla districts in Nepal’s mountains, as high as 90% of PCR tests are coming back positive.  <img width="1497" height="746" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b861c9c7e80680e067830jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="984" height="519" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b861e9c7e80680e067831jpeg.jpg" alt="">Even in cities, major hospitals have stopped admitting patients due to the shortage in oxygen supply and people are now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dying because of low oxygen saturation in their blood</a>. Nepal needs 50,000 cylinders a day, 30,000 of them in Kathmandu’s hospitals, but presently there are only 19,000 cylinders available across the country.

Sonia Awale

Aid pours into Nepal, but where be vaccines?

<figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee169c7e80680e09ae04jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Swiss Ambassador Elisabeth von Capeller (centre) handing over the consignment to Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi on Saturday at Kathmandu airport. Also pictured, Head of Cooperation for SDC Silvana Hogg. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>The United States, the EU, Australia, China, Singapore are all flying in emergency supplies to help Nepal battle a fierce Covid-19 second wave, but noticeably lacking are much needed vaccines.  It has to be said that the outside world seems to care more about Nepal than the country’s own leaders, who have been squabbling for power for the past year, and their minds now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-sets-elections-in-middle-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">diverted to controversial early elections</a> in November. The government’s vaccine diplomacy has so far failed to convince India, the US or Europe to rush jabs. Activists and public health experts say even though Nepal’s friends abroad have been generous with relief, the country is not getting the urgent help it needs to vaccinate 1.4 million people with their second dose, and then the remaining population. Nepalis took to cybresphere to thank the United States and Europe for announcing help with oxygen concentrators and PPEs this week, but said what Nepal really needs is vaccines after India banned the export of its AstraZeneca Covishield vaccines. Responding to a USAID post about emergency medical supplies to Nepal, dental surgeon Neil Pande who has been trying to mobilise help, tweeted: ‘Thank you for your generosity. What we need the most is vaccines. It will save many from suffering. Please help. 1.3 million 65+ are waiting for the second dose of Astra Zeneca.’ Another user Prabhat Shrestha wrote, ‘Please help with vaccine. Only vaccines can save us from this disaster. Thank you.’ Ra Vee Shah commented, ‘Hope this aid contains enough vaccines to continue vaccination drive.’ Nepal will have fully inoculated 700,000 of its 30 million population next week, after its ongoing Chinese VeroCell vaccination drive comes to an end. But there are no more jabs left for 1.3 million people waiting for their second dose of AstraZeneca Covishield. Nepal ran out of its stock after India banned vaccine exports, and the COVAX Facility could not supply its remaining 1.8 million vaccines because of the global supply bottleneck. There was a lengthy debate in the UK House of Lords about supplying the vaccines to Nepal, but no firm commitments were made.  Activists and pressure groups have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-urgent-american-vaccine-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">urging the Biden administration</a> to immediately rush some of its 80 million AstraZeneca doses to Nepal. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Nepal’s ambassador in Washington said this week that efforts were underway to send 3-5 million AstraZeneca vaccines from the US stockpile to Nepal. <figure><img width="1280" height="958" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee199c7e80680e09ae05jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>First of several flights with USAID medical supplies arrived at Kathmandu Airport on Saturday. Photo: USAID NEPAL</figcaption></figure>On Thursday 20 May, the USAID announced emergency assistance to Nepal with the first of three flights arriving in Kathmandu on Saturday carrying surgical masks, face shields, and gloves for frontline health workers. The USAID maintains that it has provided more than $15 million to help Nepal government scale-up testing, contact tracing, treatment, and infection prevention and more than $50 million in the past 15 months to combat the pandemic.On Saturday, the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal flew in 30 tons of medical supplies from Zurich that included 40 ventilators, oxygen concentrators, 1.1 million rapid antigen test kits and PPEs worth $8 million. <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee1b9c7e80680e09ae06jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A cargo carrying 30 tons of medical supplies from Zurich being unloaded at Kathmandu airport on Saturday. Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee1e9c7e80680e09ae07jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee209c7e80680e09ae08jpeg.jpg" alt="">“Switzerland stands in solidarity with Nepal and the Nepali people in the fight against Covid-19, these essential medical supplies will help save lives and provide support to the government of Nepal to contain and control the pandemic,” said Swiss Ambassador Elisabeth von Capeller while handing over the consignment to Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi on Saturday at Kathmandu airport.Later in Saturday, the Singapore-based Temasek Foundation, together with the MiRXES Private Limited and Lotus Life Foundation are sending 15 tons of diagnostic and medical supplies on a Nepal Airlines flight. The consignment includes 36 ventilators, 4,000 pulse oimeters, 50 B-PAPs, 123,000 PCR test kits and RNA extraction kits. <figure><img width="1280" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee229c7e80680e09ae09jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Some 13 tons of Nepal bound medical equipment being loaded into a Nepal Airlines Airbus330 at Singapore’s Changi airport on Saturday.</figcaption></figure>On Friday, the United Nations launched <a href="https://nepal.un.org/en/127307-united-nations-and-partners-nepal-launch-emergency-covid-19-plan-and-call-international" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Nepal Covid-19 Response Plan</a> calling for $83.7 million in emergency relief over the next three months to assist 750,000 of the most vulnerable people affected by the pandemic. “The current outbreak is having a devastating impact not just on health but across all sectors, hitting the poorest and most marginalised people in Nepali society the hardest,” said UN Resident Coordinator Sara Beysolow Nyanti. “The Response Plan calls for swift action and international solidarity that is desperately needed to save lives and prevent unnecessary suffering today, tomorrow, and in the difficult weeks to come. We have no time to lose.”However, even in the UN’s help list, there is no mention of vaccines. The WHO had promised vaccines for 20% of Nepal’s eligible population throughout <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unicef-urges-g7-to-dispatch-vaccines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the COVAX Facility</a>. However, 1.8 million of the 2.4 million Covishield vaccines never came, and its Indian manufacturer said this week it would not be able to export vaccines till end-2021.On Thursday, an Iberia Airbus 330 landed in Kathmandu with 50 oxygen cylinders, 10 oxygen concentrators and 15 ventilators, among other medical kits donated by organisations in Spain. The shipment facilitated through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism is the first of several to follow from the EU Member States in the coming days. <figure><img width="1280" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee259c7e80680e09ae0ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>An Iberia Airbus 330 at Kathmandu airport with 70 ventilators and 25 oxygen concentrators donated by organisations in Spain. Photo: NONA DEPREZ/ EU DELEGATION</figcaption></figure>Finland, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium are donating a combined total of 50 oxygen cylinders, 20 concentrators, 77 ventilators, 14 respirators, 164,000 antigen tests, 3.4 million masks, 42,500 gloves, 30,000 isolation gowns and 20,000 oxygen cannulas. “The Covid-19 surge in Nepal is claiming more lives every minute as it spreads across the country. We stand in full solidarity with Nepal in its fight against the pandemic,” said Janez Lenarčič, Commissioner for Crisis Management. “We are also quickly mobilising emergency support with an initial €2 million. We stand ready to provide further assistance.”Also on Thursday, the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China sent overland 200 cryogenic cylinders holding 150 litres of liquid oxygen, 10 oxygen concentrators, 5 ventilators, 200 ICU beds and 15,000 antigen kits to strengthen Nepal’s response to the pandemic.  <figure><img width="2048" height="943" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee279c7e80680e09ae0bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Medical aid, including 200 cryogenic cylinders holding 150 l of liquid oxygen each donated by the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China is handed over to the Nepal Consulate in Lhasa on Thursday. Photos: CHINESE EMBASSY</figcaption></figure>About half of the 20,000 empty oxygen cylinders China donated to Nepal has been flown in by Nepal Airlines from Beijing. However, there is no word about the 2 million more doses of SinoPharm VeroCell vaccines that Nepal wants to order from China. The Ministry of Health is said to be delaying that purchase, and is in favour of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/vaccine-geo-politics-and-sputnik-v/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Russian Sputnik V</a>.Meanwhile, Australia on Thursday also announced AUD7 million (Rs635 million) in funding to Nepal to procure essential equipment and health supplies, such as oxygen for provincial hospitals and personal protective equipment for health workers.This is part of Australia’s aid package to support Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, to strengthen the resilience of the South Asian region during the pandemic.New Zealand has also committed $1 million to support Nepal's Covid-19 response. The fund will go to UNICEF to help with emerging health needs and community resilience, wrote New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Nanaia Mahuta on her twitter. <figure><img width="548" height="828" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee299c7e80680e09ae0cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Another US-based group, <a href="https://www.directrelief.org/2021/05/direct-relief-chartered-airlift-bound-for-nepal-amid-covid-19-surge/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Direct Relief</a>, chartered an aircraft to rush oxygen concentrators and Covid-19-specific medical supplies on 25 May. ‘People in Nepal are facing the worst Covid crisis in the world today based on per-capita confirmed cases, and they need urgent help, we will do whatever we possibly can to help,’ said Thomas Tighe of Direct Relief in a statement. International relief for Nepal is picking up but its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/its-an-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">most immediate needs are oxygen and vaccines</a>, especially as the pandemic has now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-humanitarian-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">infiltrated the remotest villages</a> in the country where there is no hospital care, medical equipment or doctors. In Rolpa and Humla districts in Nepal’s mountains, as high as 90% of PCR tests are coming back positive.  <img width="1497" height="746" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee2b9c7e80680e09ae0djpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="984" height="519" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131124/636cee2c9c7e80680e09ae0ejpeg.jpg" alt="">Even in cities, major hospitals have stopped admitting patients due to the shortage in oxygen supply and people are now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dying because of low oxygen saturation in their blood</a>. Nepal needs 50,000 cylinders a day, 30,000 of them in Kathmandu’s hospitals, but presently there are only 19,000 cylinders available across the country.

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221129151140/638619f99c7e80680e0cccd3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="533"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>US President Donald Trump has pulled his country out of the World Health Organisation (WHO) citing its pro-China bias in dealing with COVID-19. (At least Trump says he has left the WHO, as with many of the president’s statements — remember the wall with Mexico? — reality can play out differently.)But even if this time Trump has accurately predicted what he will do, the global order did not just die. The pandemic might be stretching it like never before but many examples show that it is intact.For every confrontation that makes headlines, there are acts of cooperation that go unnoticed: the US prevents 3M from exporting masks, Washington and Ottawa agree to extend an agreement to keep their border closed till 21 June, when Trump <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pompeo-accuses-who-of-failing-in-basic-duty/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pompeo-accuses-who-of-failing-in-basic-duty/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1591492305679000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGnM-BCJh0YtceNmtprsPQrb_GjyA">froze funds to the WHO</a> before announcing the US’ withdrawal, Finland boosted its contribution.Of course, you can argue that such acts of cooperation are motivated by self-interest, but what is not in global relations? Governments create multinational organisations and sign treaties in the expectation that together they will be stronger – better able to prevent annihilation via wars, more effective at preventing the hole in the ozone layer from growing — and that individual nations and citizens will benefit.Development assistance is pledged in the hope that its recipients one day will become players in the global, wealth-generating trading system, which, at least in theory, benefits all participants. (More cynically, donor countries ‘tie’ aid to receiving countries doing business with their own manufacturers).Trump has also announced that the US will withdraw from the Open Skies treaty, which permits governments to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over 35 states, including Russia. Are you seeing a theme here? A huge chunk of the ‘COVID has killed cooperation’ thinking is based on events originating in Washington, and while the US president is undoubtedly influencing fellow leaders from Orban to Bolsanaro, as with many Trump-related issues, bombast overpowers behaviour.Here in Nepal, the US was one of the first governments to provide aid to Kathmandu, in March, to fight the outbreak. Many others have followed: China, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/uk-support-to-help-strengthen-nepals-response-to-covid-19/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/uk-support-to-help-strengthen-nepals-response-to-covid-19/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1591492305679000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGgvaCgocoaHlFxd1vxJZNNQUWkeQ">Britain</a>, Germany, India, Qatar, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/10000-covid-19-test-kits-to-nepal-from-singapore/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/10000-covid-19-test-kits-to-nepal-from-singapore/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1591492305679000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEdpD4HEu6SqdPPUQ4x__WapVM0vQ">Singapore</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/swiss-pcrs-for-nepal-covid-19-testing/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/swiss-pcrs-for-nepal-covid-19-testing/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1591492305679000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGWnIC4n8J6DhbVOCs7aq_2AZbb7g">Switzerland</a>, UAE, even Burma. Yes, Nepal’s powerful neighbours India and China are both continually vying for influence here, and Switzerland and Germany are long-time donors, but if these governments were motivated solely by self-interest would they not be retreating into their own crisis-ridden states rather than assisting Nepal, where only 11 people have died to date of the coronavirus?France and Germany have proposed a €500 billion European Union rescue fund that would benefit mainly southern EU states like Spain, Greece and Italy, which have been devastated by the virus. Those governments would not have to repay the money. Of course the move, which still needs to be agreed by all members, is also motivated by self-interest — any failing nation will drag down all EU members — but if agreed the deal would mark a major response that belies the prevailing ‘charity begins at home’ narrative popular in these times.The international response to the pandemic includes $44 million deposited by governments into the United Nations COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, $217 million into the WHO Solidarity Fund, and €7.4 billion pledged for vaccine research. Even USAID has announced $99 million in global emergency health funding. Countries have anted up to finance a global response to the pandemic but as usual in times of crisis it's, not enough. WHO has reported it is $900 million short of the $1.7 billion it will need to respond to the virus in 2020.The WHO has become another flashpoint in US-China relations, which have soured in a trade war since Trump took office in 2017. President Xi Jinping used the recent meeting of the World Health Association, the decision-making body of the WHO, as a platform to pledge $2 billion over two years to help nations fight COVID-19, which dwarfs the roughly $500-million US contribution to the global health body.More than 100 countries are participating in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/countries-cooperating-to-find-covid-19-cure/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/countries-cooperating-to-find-covid-19-cure/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1591492305679000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE5Gy3XfqxCIHQpT1qL_fZJbCIp-Q">WHO’s Solidarity Trial</a> to speed up development of a vaccine, and in May 140 world leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, signed a letter calling for all virus vaccines, treatments and tests to be patent-free, mass produced and distributed fairly.These actions seem to signify that much of the world agrees that just as the virus threat is global, the response too must be international.

Marty Logan

WHO and US

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101152/636b78c99c7e80680e0646bejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Nearly 2,800 people were killed on Nepal’s roads in the past year: that averages at seven fatalities per day. No data is available for the number of people who suffer such accidents, but thousands are injured seriously enough to be disabled for life. Yet, this <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Nation-road-kill,621" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pandemic of road accidents</a> gets much less media attention than COVID-19.Actress and model Mahima Silwal was headed to Chitwan for her wedding  along with her sister Sharmila on 12 February when their scooter was hit by a speeding bus. Mahima was pronounced dead at a nearby clinic. Her sister later died in a Kathmandu hospital.On 26 February CPN-ML General Secretary C P Mainali and several of his family members were injured in a car crash near Bardibas. On 2 March, former Constituent Assembly member Dharma Prasad Ghimire was killed in a crash in Bagdogra of India.News of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-deadly-roads-take-their-toll/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bus crashes and traffic accidents</a> do not even make it to the news line-up of the mainstream media anymore, unless they are celebrities. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/maps-showing-increase-in-road-accident-fatality-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yet the numbers killed</a> on Nepal’s roads in the past ten years exceeds the total 17,000 who died during the armed conflict. In fact, road traffic accidents ranked as the number one cause of death among children between 5 and 14 years of age in Nepal.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-panic-goes-viral/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">When panic goes viral</a>, Editorial“There has been a big expansion of new roads, but unfortunately highway infrastructure and road discipline enforcement have not kept pace. We need to work on implementation day-by-day,” Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Basanta Kumar Nembang told Nepali Times in Stockholm while attending the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety here.Along with 140 countries attending the conference, Nepal committed to meeting the World Health Organisation (WHO) goal to halve the number of road fatalities by 2030. According to the WHO’s own statistics, at least 7,000 people were killed worldwide during the two days of the conference – whereas the total known fatalities due to COVID-19 in the past two months was 4,635 as of Thursday.The WHO was holding the Stockholm conference even while the coronavirus was spreading out of China to the rest of the world, but road traffic accidents have long been an endemic cause of mortality and morbidity the world over. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Stockholm that it was “an outrage” that so many people were dying on the world’s roads every day.“Most road traffic deaths and injuries can be prevented, using tried and tested strategies, and everyone should be a part of the solution,” he told the gathering. But even as the conference came to a close on 20 February, the issue was already being eclipsed by the worldwide coverage of the COVID-19 spread.Since then, there have been at least 150 deaths on Nepal’s roads – mainly from overcrowded jeeps falling off poorly-built mountain roads, or buses overspeeding on highways <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nation-nepal-highways,622">lacking basic safety features</a> like centreline guard-rails. In the cities, 90% of fatalities involve motorcyclists or pedestrians, indicating poor safety enforcement and low awareness.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-deadly-roads-take-their-toll/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's deadly roads take their toll</a>, Gopal GartaulaWHO says the fatality rate is highest in low- and middle-income South Asian countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Poor countries account for 93% of highway fatalities in the world.The United Nations observed 2011-2020 as a Global Decade on Road Safety, proposing to stabilise road traffic deaths and injuries around the world. There were mixed results, with partial success in ensuring better legislation, safer roads and vehicles, mandatory use of helmets and seatbelts. and reduced speeds.The <a href="#1001 March 13datairap.orgabout-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Road Assessment Programme</a> is trying to raise awareness by rating roads by their safety records, and by giving ‘vaccines for roads’ to increase safety features. But very little of the infrastructure promoted by the program exist on Nepal’s roads, most of which are rated only one star out of five. Haphazard road construction in the past decade has not just disfigured the countryside with landslides, but also increased the rate of accidents.More than 200 children were killed on Sweden’s roads every year in the 1970s, but that figure now hovers at about 15. Opening the conference, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf said there were tested ways of saving lives.“Road safety should now be linked to other sustainability challenges, such as global health, climate change, equality, poverty and human rights,” the king said.There are now nearly 2.4 million vehicles on Nepal’s roads, and a majority of them are two-wheelers, with 800,000 motorcycles in Kathmandu Valley alone. As the number of vehicles increases, so will the fatality rate.Puspa Raj Pant, a Nepali researcher at the University of West of England in  Bristol, is concerned about the lack of pedestrian crossings, cycle lanes and traffic signals in Nepal as well as lights or crash barriers along winding mountain roads.“We have vaccines to fight killer diseases, but no medicines to reduce road fatalities,” he said. “Education, improved infrastructure and safer vehicles hold the key to improving road safety.”

The other global pandemic: road fatalities

In many parts of the world, women ambassadors can face prejudice that their male counterparts do not. Women diplomats, especially those with young children, are not expected to occupy senior positions. But female envoys to Nepal take this in stride, and appreciate the importance of their presence in challenging those assumptions.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/when-garlands-are-offered-to-male-colleagues-and-not-to-the-woman-ambassador/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">When garlands are offered to male colleagues, and not to the woman ambassador</a>, Nepali Times“It is interesting to have a conversation with people before they form an opinion about me based on my role,” says British envoy Nicola Pollitt, who often introduces herself by name and does not mention her ambassadorial title. “But it’s difficult to go for long without someone asking directly what I do and they are often surprised when I tell them – particularly if I am with my two young children at the time.” <figure><img width="4032" height="3024" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77cc9c7e80680e064659jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>British ambassador Nicola Pollitt, who speaks fluent Nepali, recently on a trip outside Kathmandu. Photo: BRITISH EMBASSY KATHMANDU</figcaption></figure>Out of 27 ambassadors currently resident in Kathmandu, seven are women: the envoys of Bangladesh, Brazil, China, the European Union, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The UN resident coordinator is also a woman.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/female-foreign-envoys-on-gender-gap,1189" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Their lady excellencies</a>, Ayesha ShakyaThe first woman ambassador to Nepal was American diplomat Carol C Laise, who held the position for seven years from 1966 to 1973, while her husband Ellsworth Bunker was the US ambassador to South Vietnam. Laise was the only female ambassador in Nepal at that time.“I’ve experienced only positive reactions, very warm and welcoming. Nepali women are very happy to see women ambassadors and are encouraged by it,” <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/it-is-now-or-never-to-devolve-power-to-local-governments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Swiss envoy to Nepal Elisabeth von Capeller</a> told Nepali Times. “For many, women ambassadors are role models.” <figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77d09c7e80680e06465ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Pollitt is the first female British ambassador to Nepal, and adds that in many countries it is easier to accept women from outside the country in positions of power than to break down the barriers to empowering women at home.She says: “Nepal is an open society and I have been welcomed here without prejudice. Many Nepalis are hopeful that as countries like the UK and others appoint female ambassadors in public-facing roles it will help promote the appointment of women in other spheres and professions. I have been pleased to find that many men are also delighted to see my appointment, and more and more are looking for ways to support and promote Nepali women.”On the occasion of International Women's Day, Pollitt is launching a <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfFRbMdTnA97cnWbTrxJy1xpAw-bohfctyT3ZVfBS2R4Sb2zg/viewform?fbclid=IwAR12d56gleGs_tfojTBgfP1JStLH4-EJK8d09t2TYeLoNgfL5v6eJAovfbo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">competition for young women</a> where the winner will have a chance to be a youth ambassador for a day.In her second term as the Swiss ambassador, von Capeller has seen significant changes in the status of Nepali women. She says: “The biggest and most positive change I see is in the younger women. Compared with the past, their self-confidence has increased substantially. Among many factors, education has certainly contributed to it.”There is a greater gender disparity in politics and diplomatic services than in other professional fields. According to the 2019 report ‘Women in Politics’ by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women, only nine countries have half or more ministerial positions occupied by women, and in only three countries are 50% or more parliamentarians women.Nepal ranked 36th in the world in percentage of women in parliament and a low 123rd in terms of women in ministerial positions. As for women in the foreign service, there has been a slow but significant increase. Three of the Government of Nepal’s current ambassadors are women: those to Oman, Japan and Israel. <img width="337" height="400" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77d39c7e80680e06465bjpeg.jpg" alt="">For International Women’s Day on Sunday, British envoy Nicola Pollitt has a hope: “I wish women all over Nepal the courage, strength and determination to take opportunities and fulfil your potential. Without your active participation, Nepal will not fulfil its potential.”Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/politics-power-women,773" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Power to women</a>, Bineeta Gurung

Her Excellencies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcOLeRbQqWwSwiss Ambassador Elisabeth von Capeller Oswald is on her second diplomatic stint in Nepal after also serving as assistant director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Bern. She spoke to Nepali Times last week about Switzerland’s changing focus in Nepal’s development over the decades. Excerpt:  Nepali Times: This is your second tenure in Nepal. How has Nepal changed?Ambassador von Capeller Oswald: I am very happy to come back here, and I have seen many positive changes. Nepal was a rural society but now through mobility, it is more of a rural-urban society. The places that you had to walk for days to reach are now reachable in a few hours. In the past, the young wanted to be government officers, now they want to have their own enterprises. It’s much more diversified, self exploratory and self determined. That is a huge change.Then, of course, the political system has changed a lot. Not everybody agrees with it but that is a part of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/federalism-rule-of-law-and-the-judiciary/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federalism</a>. People are closer to service delivery and elected representatives are closer to the people. The politics is more dynamic and engaging.What is still there is discrimination. Probably it’s not as strong in some regions as it was, but maybe it’s more subtle and not so visible.You mention how mobility has changed Nepal. Your government has worked a lot on building trail bridges. Has that priority changed?I think Switzerland was among the first countries to understand that roads are needed for economic and social development. The Jiri road benefited the people there. The Swiss Embassy has provided technical expertise in this area, later collaborating with the government for knowledge transfer. We want to stop building roads now because the competence lies with local governments.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Dolakha-rebuilding-bridges-after-quake,3702" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bridge builders</a>, Sonia Awale<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813110/636a44da9c7e80680e04d353jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s migration economy has had a huge impact. What has been your embassy’s involvement? I remember 10 years ago the government refused to accept <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/doubts-on-zero-cost-migration-deal-coming-into-force,2157" target="_blank" rel="noopener">migration</a> as a fact. Now it is fully understood that it is a reality and it needs to be addressed. A lot depends on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/paying-an-arm-and-a-leg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">migrants who contribute to the development</a> of this country. Our aim is to support positive migration but also to help the government mitigate the negative aspects.The Migration Information Centres we have set up are the best initiative in our 30 years of development cooperation. They have helped people learn of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepali-migrants-too-young-to-die,2811" target="_blank" rel="noopener">risks of migration</a>, and their rights, and helped them to contact the right people in case of emergencies. We also give skills training to help them earn better, and to inform them about the cultural context of where they are going. We also have financial-literacy trainings. And what I appreciate is psycho-social counselling for victims and family members. Some of the women migrants really suffer because their family think they are not ‘honourable’ any more.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-lottery-of-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The lottery of migration</a>, EditorialThe Swiss embassy has been working a lot on gender and social inclusion. What can Nepal do to achieve better inclusivity?Let me start by telling you that I am the first woman to head this office in 60 years. Even in Switzerland we are not where we want to be. It is a long process, it entails powerful people letting go, and for others to take over. Swiss laws are not as complex as Nepal’s, but we do have different languages, cultures and religions. It is about diversity.I would say this country has very progressive election laws: the President and Vice President need to be of different genders, and so do the mayors and deputy mayors. I think that is fantastic, exceptional and will have an impact on gender and inclusion. Compulsory Dalit representation at the local level will have a powerful effect too.We have always said the root causes of the conflict were exclusion and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-great-income-divide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poverty</a>. It is important that those excluded due to gender or caste gain from development, including in the workforce. It is now our duty to support elected women and representatives of marginalised groups.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-great-income-divide/">Nepal's great income divide</a>, Ramesh Kumar<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813110/636a44dd9c7e80680e04d354jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="5616" height="3744">Nepal has recently become a federation while Switzerland has been one for a long time. What would you say are the ingredients that make devolution work?We have different contexts and histories, but the principle is the same: services are delivered where the people are, by elected persons. Last week I was in Karnali and I met many committed mayors, deputy mayors and also ward level members. They really want to understand the people and deliver the services. For me, this is what makes federalism work; that is its secret.It is now or never. All citizens, and we as development partners, have to contribute if this is going to be a success story. Development partners will be decisive in power sharing at the local level. Do we still implement through the central agency with provincial representatives, or do we now implement and collaborate at the local level? I do not yet see a full change in approach by the donors. We have clearly adapted all our programs to the local level.The Swiss embassy is also very involved in transitional justice. How do you gauge progress in that arena?I was first here in 2006, and a lot has happened since then: the peace accord, the Maoist integration, an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-great-income-divide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earthquake</a>, the Constitution and the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/trial-error-democracy,3713" target="_blank" rel="noopener">election</a> at three levels. It’s a lot for a country to go through in a short time, and shows the country is able to deal with difficult situations.Having said that, we also believe it’s the right time to finalise the peace process. We support a Nepali-led process which is victim-centric. It is not just about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/rocky-transition-to-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">justice</a> but also about people who have the right to know what happened to their loved ones, about compensation and memorials. It is also about rule of law, because if <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/12-years-later-justice-is-a-mirage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impunity prevails</a> it will have an impact on the economic environment. The economy can only be strong in an environment with a strong rule of law.

“It is now or never to devolve power to local governments”

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41c59c7e80680e04a694jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Pic: 4ST</figcaption></figure>As Nepal rebuilds many heritage sites and trekking trails that were damaged in the 2015 earthquake, activists say this is an opportunity to make them barrier free. Such improvements would render the facilities accessible not just for different kinds of tourists, but also for local people with disabilities, along with the elderly.Accessible tourism simply means adapting facilities so they are easier to travel in, whether the visitors are people with disabilities or not. This gives tourists opportunities to visit areas they have been dreaming to see, but could not visit because of access difficulties. Inclusive tourism accepts everyone, no matter their physical state.“There is still a lot of work to be done to make Nepal an accessible destination, and we need a partnership between the state, tourism service providers and advocacy groups,” says Pankaj Pradhananga of <a href="https://www.go-nepal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Four Seasons Travel (4ST)</a>, a key player in creating accessible tourism experiences in Nepal.A milestone in promoting <a href="https://www.nfdn.org.np/papers/accessible-tourism.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accessible tourism</a> in this country was the visit five years ago by the late American inclusive tourism advocate, <a href="http://www.rollingrains.com/">Scott Rains</a>, who worked with Nepali tourism entrepreneurs to develop an accessible tourism strategy.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/three-toots-for-tootle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Three toots for tootle</a>, Sonia AwaleThen, two months after the 2015 earthquake, 4ST organised a day trip to Godavari Botanical Garden for 50 people in wheelchairs who were living in a temporary shelter in Jawalakhel. Since then, the visually impaired and double amputees have climbed Mt Everest, completed difficult treks, and have been participating in relatively easier experiences, like taking mountain sightseeing flights out of Kathmandu.In 2016, 4ST helped organise the ‘Wounded Heroes Trek to Nepal’, in which a group of amputee veterans trekked with prosthetics in the Annapurna Region (above). Last year, the organisation worked with Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and the National Federation of Disabled Nepal to host the inaugural <a href="https://www.eturbonews.com/182285/nepal-commits-to-accessible-tourism-initiatives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Conference on Accessible Adventure (ICAA 2018)</a> in Pokhara, during which Nepal’s first ever accessible trail, near Sarangkot, was inaugurated by late Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari. (See box, below)Freedom of movement and the right to mobility and travel are considered basic human rights in an international covenant signed by most of the world’s countries. However, accessible tourism is still not a reality in many places, including in developed destinations. In Nepal, the concept is new and since most travel products involve adventure, inclusive tourism is still a long way off.However, a start has been made with recent initiatives that use tourism to raise awareness among local people about the need to offer wheelchair access and make infrastructure safe and easy to navigate for people with disabilities.More than 4,000 Nepalis were left with physical disabilities as a result of the 2015 earthquake. They join an estimated 600,000 people in this country with physical handicaps.“It is actually more important to build accessible infrastructure for the benefit of the locals than for foreign tourists,” says Pradhananga.Suman Timsina of the Washington-based International Development Institute, which organised the Annapurna trek for veterans on prosthetics adds: “There are many advantages to promoting accessible tourism: it will open up Nepal as a new destination for people with disabilities, and senior citizens, and it will spread awareness among locals to care for people with special needs. Accessible tourism is not an easy thing to do but the right thing to do.”Monika Deupala<h2>Jeeza’s journeys</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41c89c7e80680e04a695jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1200"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In 2010, international river and mountain guide <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/100756072/tetraplegic-paraglider-jezza-williams-marks-first-solo-coastal-flight-in-christchurch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeeza Williams</a> (pictured) fell off a waterfall while canyoning in Switzerland, his spinal injuries paralysing him chest down and confining him to a wheelchair for life. But the 43-year-old New Zealander was always into sports and the tetraplegic has not let his injury stop him from seeking adventures around the world, while helping to adapt travel for those with disabilities.Williams has been in Nepal for the past two weeks, having a whooping good time paragliding in Pokhara, rafting down the Trisuli River and going on a safari in Chitwan. “Waiting for a glimpse of Annapurna at sunrise from Sarangkot was heavenly,” Williams told Nepali Times. “I am grateful to people who have been helping me from day one. This has been the most exciting and most adventurous trip so far.”Williams is a licensed paragliding pilot, and flies in his special three-wheel, self-designed buggy harnessed below the wing. It was while recovering from his injury in a Swiss rehab centre that he made up his mind to continue his adventure tourism career, but Williams was soon shocked at how little infrastructure exists to make tourism friendly to people with disabilities.https://youtu.be/fFk6n1WtepUSo he set up the <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.makingtrax.co.nz/About-Us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">non-profit Makingtrax</a> to promote inclusive tourism, so that all kinds of people could enjoy adventure sports. Williams started attending talk programs and visited travel companies and adventure planners to spread his message.Last year in Brussels, he met Pankaj Pradhananga from Nepal’s Four Seasons Travels (see main story, above) at the Inclusive Tourism Summit and the two found they had lots in common.“We had a synergy as we started talking about superb destinations in New Zealand and Nepal and how Nepalis and Kiwis have adventure in our blood,” says Williams, who adds it is difficult to make a historic city like Kathmandu completely accessible, but it can be made inclusive.“We can make it friendly for all disabled people. Start with little things like widening doors to hotels or washrooms and provide trained adventure guides who can help with equipment that those with disabilities need,” he told a gathering on Wednesday at Hotel Manaslu.Monika Deupala<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41cb9c7e80680e04a696jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><h2>Pokhara’s first accessible trek trail</h2>Yuvaraj Shrestha in PokharaNepal’s tourism city may not have wheelchair-friendly streets or <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-right-of-passage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sidewalk guiding blocks</a> for the visually impaired, but it now has an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hiking-up-the-benefits-of-tourism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accessible trail</a> nearby designed for hikers with disabilities.A 3km stretch of the trekking trail between Kaskikot and Naudanda has been made wheelchair friendly for day hikers. There are no steps and guardrails have been built along cliff sections as the trail winds its way through thick forests and ridge meadows with full frontal views of the Annapurnas. There are wheelchair-friendly toilets along the way, and parts of the trail are also stone-paved.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41ce9c7e80680e04a697jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="900"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Tourists in wheelchairs can now ride in a vehicle from Pokhara to Sarangkot for the sunrise view, drive on to Kaskikot, and then hit the trail in wheelchairs up to Naudanda, a distance that can be covered by lunchtime. Lodges and eateries along the way have built ramps and disabled-friendly bathrooms.“We built this trail as a model, so more and more trekking paths in Nepal should be made like this,” says Bishnu Hari Sharma, who heads a local committee that built the trail. “After all, those with disabilities also want to be in the outdoors to admire the scenery. Please spread the word.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41d19c7e80680e04a698jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Heman Gurung of the advocacy group Swabhalamban in Pokhara says: “It is short, but exciting. It is a great experience for those who are wheelchair bound, not only for us in Nepal, but for those like us from all over the world.”The trail offers a stunning panorama of the Annapurna Range, Dhaulagiri and Machhapuchhre to the north, and Phewa Lake and Pokhara city to the south and east. Most hikers can return to Pokhara from Naudanda along the Baglung Highway. The easy gradient means that the trail can also be used by the elderly and those who have problems with steep climbs.The trail was built as a model with a Rs1.9 million grant from the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), which is adding more guardrails and pavement. It was inaugurated by the late Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari in 2018 as a pilot project.“This trail is also designed to spread awareness among the general public about the special needs of people with disabilities, and also to show the world that Nepal is accessible to all,” says NTB CEO Deepak Raj Joshi.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41d49c7e80680e04a699jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><h2>Nepal opens doors to a different world</h2>If people with disabilities are seen as potential customers, all hotels would be wheelchair-friendlyPrabhas Pokharel<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41d79c7e80680e04a69ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Yami Jhakri Magar (pictured behind desk) rides fearlessly and comfortably in her wheelchair inside Hardik Hotel, where she has worked for nearly four years. Most infrastructure in Kathmandu is inaccessible for wheelchair users like Magar, but in her workplace she feels completely independent as she requires no help from peers to use the bathroom or move about the workplace.Hardik Hotel is one of those rare establishments in Kathmandu that have tried to address the mobility of people with disabilities, many of whom cannot find work because workplaces are not wheelchair friendly. And even if employers want to hire people with disabilities, most cannot provide the needed environment.“If more hotels, even five-star hotels, start building such infrastructure their hiring policy could be very inclusive for persons with disabilities like me,” says Magar.Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Our-job-to-reach-out,995" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Our job to reach out</a>, Samira Shakya<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/07/27/disability-friendly-jorpati/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Disability-friendly Jorpati</a>, From the Nepali Presshttps://youtu.be/uOr0nHVwRlUOpened seven years ago, Hardik Hotel in Bagbazar is still one of few, non-5-star hotels in Kathmandu with accessible rooms, bathrooms, hallways and wheelchair ramps. For manager Ramesh Pandey it was not an easy journey. At first the incline on the ramps was too steep and wheelchair users had to be pushed up. (Video online.)“When people hear accessibility they think it is costly, but if you include those elements during the initial design and not as an afterthought, the cost of ramps is the same as for stairwells. It does not cost a fortune.”Pandey was inspired to make a disabled-friendly hotel after watching a wheelchair user having to skip lunch because the only way to the food was via stairs. “It affected me deeply at a personal level, and I decided that my hotel had to have accessible infrastructure,” he recalls.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41db9c7e80680e04a69bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The move has been a plus for business. Many conferences and programs, not just ones for the differently-abled, now use Hardik as a venue. Ramps link the parking area to meeting halls and guest rooms with accessible bathrooms.Says Sagar Prasai of the advocacy group Diverse Patterns: “As a person using a wheelchair, my major concern whenever I am invited to events is whether the bathroom is accessible to us.”Pandey says it is a mindset problem: most hotel owners do not regard people with disabilities as potential customers or employees. “Making a facility wheelchair friendly is only the first step,” he explains. “What is the point in just making a hotel wheelchair friendly? Look at the state of our roads and sidewalks — how will people get to the hotel in the first place?” he asks.Also, while wheelchair ramps are the most visible symbols of accessibility, they are of no help to other differently-abled persons, such as those having visual or hearing impairments. Pandey now plans to create a mobile app so the visually impaired can navigate the premises.

Monika Deupala

Making Nepal accessible to all

<figure><img width="780" height="776" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/636903f09c7e80680e037cf2jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>HOME IN THE MOUNTAINS: Ted Atkins in Khumjung below three of the mountains he had climbed: Mt Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.</figcaption></figure>Ted Atkins, a British mountaineer, entrepreneur and frequent contributor to Nepali Times on climbing safety in the Himalaya died on Tuesday while descending Civetta in the Dolomites.Atkins was an aerosystems engineer and a member of the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service and led the Mt Everest North Ridge Expedition in 2001. He summited Everest later from the Nepal side, and went on to climb Kangchenjunga, Makalu, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.He also set a world record for the highest ever boat ride by paddling a raft on a glacial lake at 6,300m below Everest. Colleagues remember him as a man who pushed the limits to get the job done, and was always trying out new adventures like <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/everest-skydive-nepal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high altitude freefall diving</a>.After leaving the RAF, Atkins ran a thriving business selling bottled oxygen to Himalayan expeditions at a time where there had been several fatalities caused by faulty equipment. His cylinders had a new kind of delivery system that he invented himself. “Everything Ted did was to the max, he had so many adventures and epics it is hard to believe he fell on the way from a via Feratta near his home in Italy,”<a href="https://heavywhalley.wordpress.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> wrote a friend in a blog tribute</a>. <figure><img width="1500" height="1167" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/636903f39c7e80680e037cf3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-oxygen-of-mountaineering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article he wrote for Nepali Times this year in May</a> recounted a close brush with death when his oxygen cylinder exploded before a climb. Many expeditions reported <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-records-oxygen-failure-on-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">malfunctioning cylinder regulators</a> procured in Kathmandu this year. In the article he blamed it on greed of unscrupulous businessmen. Atkins was working to make it safer with his company, <a href="https://www.gasworld.com/everest-oxygen-plant-first/2014746.article" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Top Out Oxygeneering</a>.Atkins often lamented the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/outside-in/shooting-ourselves-in-the-foot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commercialisation of mountaineering in Nepal in his columns</a> and also had suggestions for improving Nepal’s tourism image. For instance, he thought <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Outside-In/business-customer-relationship,388" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathmandu Airport gave a very bad first impression of Nepal to visitors</a>.Atkins seemed to have a premonition of his death when <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-oxygen-of-mountaineering/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he quoted in his last coluimn in this paper</a> the words of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/i-want-to-live-my-last-among-friends/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upendra Devkota</a>, the neurosurgeon <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/upendra-devkotas-lives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who passed away in June after battling terminal cancer</a>: “Death is not so important. What is important is what the dead person leaves behind”.Atkin’s last words in that piece were: ‘Wise words that make me wish I knew the doctor. What do we leave behind, did we make anything better, what will our children say about us? Think about the future, their future.’ <h2>“Always make things better”</h2> <figure><img width="778" height="545" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/636903f79c7e80680e037cf4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Ted was killed while descending a mountain near his home in the Italian Dolomites. A mountain that he had climbed many times before.As a true engineer, his outlook on life was always to make things better. His contribution to Nepal, especially as a pioneer in the field of mountaineering oxygen systems, is immeasurable. He was always a patient teacher to me and humored me always in my ignorance. Many were the times we shared a plate of chips and a beer or sat in his ‘mad scientist lab’ and talked about the purpose of our lives. You always lived your life to the fullest, making the best of each day. In that same spirit, you have left us so very suddenly doing what you loved doing.Ted was more like family to all of us here at ASTREK. His zest for life always energised us and his incredible stories could put a smile on anyone’s face. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten. I will miss you sorely. Dhanyabad for the memories MeroSaathi. Rest In Peace My Friend.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/dawasteven" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dawa Steven Sherpa</a>, mountaineer and partner with Atkins in Top Out Nepal. <h2>“Spread positive energy”</h2> <figure><img width="855" height="570" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/636903f99c7e80680e037cf5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Ted was an integral part of the mountaineering community in Nepal, greatly contributing to the development of oxygen systems and masks. With his Topout oxygen masks, he enabled hundreds of people reach the top of an 8,000m-peak in Nepal and fulfilling their dreams. Ted shall be greatly missed, not only for his incredible ability to come up with solid solutions to technical problems, his vigour to improve things and his expertise in many fields, but also for the amazing positive energy he spread around the streets of Kathmandu. It was always a pleasure to meet up with Ted, philosophise about life and the universe with him, listen to his adventurous stories and have a good laugh with him.Ted certainly lived his life, which sadly ended less than three months before his 60th birthday, to the full and enjoyed every moment of it. Thanks Ted for giving so much to Nepal and its mountaineering community. You have made your mark and you shall be greatly missed.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009403310129" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Billi Bierling</a>, mountaineer and convener of the Himalayan Database

Kunda Dixit

Ted Atkins killed in climb

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.